Covered Bridge Estates

Food Truck Monday and Thursday at Covered Bridge Estates is an opportunity for residents to take the night off from cooking and swing by the Clubhouse for some good food provided by local food trucks.  The goal is to provide at least one truck each Monday and Thursday (holidays may be excluded) from 4-8pm.

The following is our current schedule of food trucks which is subject to change, so please check this post regularly.  The Facebook or website link included can help you learn more about each food truck and, in many cases, provide you with their menu.

Full Belly Stuffed Burger will be here this Monday from 4-8pm. They take credit cards, and have a kids menu to please everyone! Check out their Facebook page. Watch for their menu.

American Honey Creamery will be back as well with their delicious ice cream and shakes featuring their new October flavors! Check out their Facebook page. Here is the full menu:

Click here for full schedule of upcoming Food Trucks.

Well, here we are in autumn and hopefully nearing the end of hurricane season. I hope your summer was enjoyable. September has been busy here at Covered Bridge Estates with the renovation of the Clubhouse and preparation of the 2020 Operating Budget (more on this below). Here are some highlights from the “Manager’s Corner.”

Clubhouse Renovation: We are so grateful for the Clubhouse Beautification Committee for their outstanding job designing and completing the upgrades to the Clubhouse. The changes include a full upgrade to the kitchen (counters, sink, new stove, and flooring) and enhancements to the billiard room (now called the “Game Room”), allowing for darts and Nerf basketball as well as new felt on the pool table. The stunning change is the main room with all new flooring, furnishings, and an 85″ flat screen TV. Please make a point of coming in on October 17 between 5:00 and 7:30 for the grand reveal.

2020 Operating Budget:  You are most likely aware that the new budget has been prepared and mailed to all owners. Once again, the Board has managed to maintain assessments at $217 per quarter while providing fully-funded reserves. The budget will be adopted at the October 23, 2019 Budget Review Meeting at 6:00pm.

Accounting Software Update: I have started working with the team at CINC Systems to prepare for transition to the new accounting software. The goal is to go live with this new software on January 1, 2020. Please be aware that the assessment payment coupons you will receive for 2020 will be from a different bank (American Momentum Bank) and payments for 2020 will be sent to them. We will not be using CenterState Bank after December 31, 2019.

New Basketball Court Lighting: The lights have finally been installed on the basketball court and greatly improve night-time visibility. These lights are on a separate control from the tennis court lights so that we don’t need to waste electricity lighting both courts when only one is needed. These new lights are LED, which are much more energy efficient and we will be looking into switching to LED for the tennis courts in the future.

New Clubhouse Monitors: Please welcome Megan as one of our new Clubhouse monitors. Megan is a college student who is providing coverage on weekends and has done an excellent job over the past few weeks. We are still looking for some part-time help if you are interested (or know of someone who is).

Are you a budding artist? Would you like to have some fun with other residents and learn to paint? Join Karalee Hammes on November 8, 2019 from 6:30 – 8:30pm at the Clubhouse. Karalee is a local artist who has been teaching both one-on-one and groups for many years. Whether teaching students in ongoing instruction or doing fun one-time classes, her objective is to make her students comfortable and to have fun with art.

The cost for this event is $35.00 per person, which includes all materials and supplies.  Feel free to bring your own refreshments as you enjoy an evening painting with Karalee. The deadline for registering for this class is November 5, 2019.

To register for this class using PayPal click here.

If you do not use PayPal you can contact Karalee directly at karalee@graphicalreflections.com and pay by credit card.

The Social Activities and Events volunteers have been busy thinking up fun stuff to offer our residents this year. While most of the events are yet to be fully planned and set on the calendar, the goal is to offer at least one fun event each month here at Covered Bridge Estates. The following tentative schedule of events is what is being considered. Do you have an idea for an event? Are you interested in assisting with one or more of the events listed? If you would like to get involved, we’d love to have you! Contact us at info@cbecai.com and let us know your ideas.

Mark your calendar for the unveiling of the long-anticipated Clubhouse renovations that have been in progress during the month of September. Stop in on October 17 anytime from 5:00-7:30pm and check out the new colors, new furniture, new fixtures, big screen TV, improved game room, and much more. Light refreshments will be served.

Many thanks to Janet Hood, Marge Merlan and Gloria Calcao for their excellent work planning and completing this project on-time and on budget.

The front entrance to the Clubhouse will reopen Monday, September 30, for access to the Office and workout room. The game room and kitchen will be unavailable for a few more days while final touches are being made.

Back in August we had an excellent seminar at the Clubhouse hosted by Wayne Grubbs on caring for your palm trees.  Several residents attended this event and learned the proper types of fertilizers to use depending on the tree species and the symptoms.

There was also an extensive session on the proper way to trim palms.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend, here is a helpful handout that was provided.  Click on the thumbnails to view the brochures.

Covered Bridge Estates is looking for a part time Facility Monitor to oversee the recreational facilities. Our Facility Monitors normally work 5-9pm on weekdays and/or Saturdays from 12-9pm. This position is a fill-in position to back up other shifts or to be a second monitor on busy days.

Please send resume to Pat Naldrett-Bilodeau, Community Manager – manager@cbecai.com.

This past February, the Board of Directors voted to approve Resolution 02-02-2019 – Trash Restrictions, which requires that garbage be put into containers with a lid when left at the road on trash day. This resolution was adopted in response to the increase in trash bags being ripped open by birds and other critters on trash day and the resulting mess left in the road.

FYI: Manatee County requires that trash cans be no larger than 32 gallons. It is recommended that you separate your trash cans at least three feet from your recycle bin if possible to allow space for the mechanical arm on the recycle trucks.

Click for the full details of the resolution: Resolution 02-02-2019 – Trash Restrictions.

More trash and recycling info may be found on the Manatee County website at https://www.mymanatee.org/departments/utilities/trash_and_recycling.